Manual fill hot beverage dispenser

ABSTRACT

A hot beverage dispenser for use in locations where it is not desirable or practical to connect the dispenser to a water supply. The hot water system in the dispenser includes an electrically heated tank, a reservoir remote from the tank, which may be manually filled, and means including an auxiliary chamber connecting the reservoir to the tank and controlling flow from the reservoir to the tank on demand.

United States Patent Lavochkin et al.

[ MANUAL FILL HOT BEVERAGE DISPENSER inventors: Ronald B. Lavochkin,Burlington;

John Gardner, Tewksbury, both of Mass Assignee: Jet Spray Cooler, lnc.,Waltham,

Mass.

Filed: Mar. 5, 1974 Appl. No.: 448,352

US. Cl. 222/67; 222/ I46 HE Int. Cl. B67D 5/62 Field of Search'.....222/146 R, 146 H, I46 HE,

222/146 HS, 67, l29.ll29.4

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1958 Brown U 222/l29.l

[ Dec. 23, 1975 3,420,4l4 l/l969 Christine el al r. ZZZ/I46 R PrimaryExaminer-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Elraminer-John P. Shannon Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks 14 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures has MANUAL FILL HOT BEVERAGE DISPENSER The present invention relates tohot liquid dispensers and more particularly comprises a new and improvedhot water system for coffee, hot chocolate and soup dispensers designedto be manually filled. In the following description the system isdescribed in terms of a hot chocolate dispenser but it has widerapplication.

Counter top hot chocolate dispensers ordinarily contain independentsupplies of flavor concentrate and hot water, and the dispensers mix thetwo in proper ratio on demand and on a drink by drink basis. The hotwater supply system for these units customarily includes a heating tankwhich is either connected to a pressurized water line or manuallyfilled. Where it is impractical or too costly to connect the tank to awater line, or where portability is desired, it is commonplace to usemanually filled heating tanks. Ordinarily the manually filled tanks havea gravity discharge for the hot water to a mixing chamber where thewater is combined with the chocolate concentrate. The manually filledsystems presently available have several disadvantages. For example,where gravity flow is relied upon, the tank must be elevated to assurean adequate discharge rate. It is not satisfactory merely to dischargethe water from the bottom of the tank and mount the tank on the bottomwall of the dispenser housing, because the discharge spout must beelevated a sufficient height to enable the cup to be filled from theunit to be placed beneath the spout. As a result, the hot water tank isnormally elevated in the housing which creates some instability for thedispenser. And if the tank is disposed on its side to reduce dispenserheight, the counter space taken up by the unit is greater than what isdeemed acceptable in many installations.

Because the discharge rate from a gravity flow open tank is dependentupon the head of liquid in the tank, a compensating device is generallyrequired to control the efflux rate to some preset amount. Thesecompensating devices involve floats and/or trapped volumes, headsensitive regulating valves, or various mechanical arrangements, andthey add to the manufacturing costs of the dispenser.

Ordinarily in manually filled units a band heater is employed about thelower portion of the tank to heat the water. It is desirable to locatethe heaters below the lowest operating liquid level to prevent excessivesurface boiling and avoid overheating of the tank. This limits theusable tank volume to something less than total volume of the tank.

Another limitation of the prior art open tank, manually filled systemsis the presence of large losses caused by evaporation when the watertemperature is set by the tank thermostat at or above 175F. And as thewater level drops in the tank, evaporation losses increase, and thecovers on the tanks, whether plastic or metal, are often too hot tocomfortably handle. And care must be taken to avoid contact with thevapor that escapes when the cover is removed.

Because of the hazards associated with low water levels in the heatingtank, at least one prior art system incorporates a float switch in thetank that provides a warning light at low water level condition. Thisfeature obviously adds to the cost of the dispenser, and the fittingthrough which the electrical connection is made between the float andthe indicator is a potential source of leakage.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a hot beveragedispenser which avoids the limitations of the prior art devicesdescribed above.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a hot beveragedispenser that has a great number of components which are common to boththe manually filled unit and the line connected units of the prior art.In this connection, the unit of this invention has a great number ofcomponents which are common both to it and the line connected hotbeverage dispensers shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,737,076, 3,730,144 and3,568,887 all owned by the assignee of this application.

To accomplish these and other objects, the hot beverage dispenser ofthis invention has a closed hot water tank above which is mounted awater reservoir preferably made of a transparent or translucentmaterial, which allows the attendant to observe the water level in thereservoir. The reservoir is connected to the bottom of the hot watertank through an auxiliary chamber which contains a float valve thatcontrols flow from the reservoir to the tank and is responsive to thelevel of water in the tank.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be betterunderstood and appreciated from the following detailed description ofone embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shownin the accompanying drawing in which:

BRIEF FIGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beveragedispenser constructed in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of the beverage dispenser shown inFIG. 1 illustrating the hot water system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The dispenser shown in thedrawing has a housing 10 and is designed to be placed on a counter in asnack bar or other fast food establishment and dispense hot drinks oneat a time. In use the cup or container to be filled is placed on or heldabove drip tray 12 on the front of the housing beneath the mixingassembly and discharge spout 14. An actuating button 16 on the housingis electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown) that includessome form of timer, which causes the dispenser to discharge a drink of apreset size. These components are of standard design found in hotchocolate dispensers shown in the earlier patents identified above.

Disposed in housing 10 is hot water tank 20, which preferably isconstructed as the tank shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,144. Because thetank is described in great detail in that earlier patent, it isdescribed only briefly here. It includes a plastic shell 22 andstainless steel section 26 in which is mounted an immersion heater 24 atthe tank bottom. A thermostat 28 is mounted in the tank to control theelectrical circuit (not shown) for the immersion heater. The tank issupported on the bottom wall 30 of the housing by stand 32.

The upper end of tank 20 is connected by duct 34 to the top funnelsection 36 of the mixing assembly and discharge spout l4, and solenoidvalve 38 interposed in duct 34 at the discharge port in the tankcontrols the flow of hot water from tank 20 to funnel 36. Conventionallywhen the dispenser is used to dispense hot chocolate drinks, a container(not shown) for flavor concentrate (either powder or liquid) is placedon shelf 3 forming part of housing 10 and discharges its contents intofunnel 36, typically as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,887.

A water reservoir is mounted on the top wall 52 of housing 10 and servesas a source of water for tank 20. Reservoir 50 has a lid 54 which mayreadily be removed for filling, and preferably the reservoir is made ofa transparent or translucent material so that the level of water in thereservoir may be observed without removing the cover. As reservoir 50tits on top of housing 10 and is not confined within it, it is readilyaccessible to the operater when filling is required. The reservoir isconnected to the tank 20 through an auxiliary chamber and transfer duct62.

Auxiliary chamber 60 located beneath top wall 52 of housing 10 issupported on the top of tank 20, and the auxiliary chamber and tank arein continuous communication with one another. Passage 64 defined by neck66 on the top wall of tank 20 opens into chamber 60, and neck 66 extendsupwardly and registers with sleeve 68, and the two are sealed togetherby gasket 70. A number of ports 72 in sleeve 68 join the interior ofauxiliary chamber 60 with passage 64.

The upper end of sleeve 68 serves as a guide for stem of float 82forming part of the float valve assembly 84 which controls water flowfrom reservoir 50 to tank 20. A pin 86 carried by float 82 extendsupwardly through collar formed as part of the bottom wall 92 ofreservoir 50 and carries seal 88 which is positioned to engage thebottom edge of collar 90 to close the passage 91 formed by it when thefloat elevates the seal to the position shown in FIG. 2. Collar 90 issealed within neck 94 formed in the cover 96 of auxiliary chamber 60 byO-ring 98.

Auxiliary chamber 60 is subdivided into two compartments by cylindricalpartition 100. Outer annular compartment 102 is connected at its bottomto transfer duct 62 while inner compartment 104 is connected to theinterior of tank 20 through passage 64 and ports 72 in the mannerpreviously described.

Float 82 carries an outwardly extending flange that extends over the topof cylindrical partition 100 and serves as a baffle so as to directwater that flows from reservoir 50 through passage 91 in collar 90 intoouter annular compartment 102. Thus, flow from the reservoir 50 to tank20 normally occurs through port 91 (assuming seal 88 is unseated) overbaffle or flange 110, down through annular compartment 102 and transferduct 62, and up T-connection 1 12 and diverter 114. A drain plug 116 isshown in the bottom of T" 112 to drain the system as necessary.

A vent tube 120 open at its upper end in auxiliary chamber 60 above thenormal operating water level in the chamber maintains the inside of thechamber at atmospheric pressure through line 122, which terminates atits lower end in the front panel of housing 10 above drip tray 12. Line122 is also connected by means of a Y-connection 124 to discharge duct34. This venting arrangement prevents any hot water from being trappedin discharge duct 34 and causes a malfunction of the hot water system tocreate water discharge into the drip tray 12 where it may readily beobserved. The reservoir 50 is also maintained at atmospheric pressurethrough vent in cover 54.

Typically hot water tank 20 may have a one gallon capacity and reservoir50 may have a capacity of l or 2 gallons, and annular compartment 102 ofchamber 60 may have a capacity of approximately 0.1 gallon.

The system in use operates as follows: To place the system in operation,reservoir 50 is placed on top wall 52 of housing 10 with its collar 90sealed in sleeve 94 of auxiliary chamber cover 96 by O-ring 98. Becausethe tank 20 and auxiliary chamber 60 are empty, float 82 is disposed ina down position so that seal 88 is spaced from the bottom of collar 90.The reservoir cover 54 is removed, and water is poured into thereservoir until the water level in the reservoir stops dropping. Waterpoured in the reservoir will flow over baffle 110 into annularcompartment 102 and through transfer duct 62 and diverter 14 into tank20. The water level in tank 20 rises, and when the tank is full, thewater level will continue to rise and enter inner compartment 104 ofchamber 60 through passage 64 and ports 72. Ultimately the float 82 willrise with the level of water in compartment 104 and cause the seal 88 toseat on the bottom of collar 90 so that additional water poured in thereservoir will cause the level in the reservoir to rise. It will berecognized that the level of water in compartment 104 will be the sameas in compartment 102 because fluid equilibrium will be established.With the tank full, the power switch (not shown) may be turned on toenergize heater 24 to heat the water in tank 20 to approximately I75F.,a normal hot chocolate temperature. The water in compartment 104 will beheated to the same temperature, while the temperature of the water inouter compartment 102 will be somewhat less than that of the tank,typically about F.

If the water level in compartments 102 and 104 of chamber 60 is as shownin FIG. 2, only the water in the inner compartment 104 would be heateddue to its direct fluid communication with the hot water tank. However,as the cold water from the initial fill expands upon being heated intank 20, the water level in compartment 104 rises and will ordinarilyoverflow the annular partition 100. When this occurs the temperature ofthe water in annular compartment 102 will also rise. An observablepumping action takes place due to the difference in temperature betweencompartments 104 and 102 whereby the cooler water flows down transferduct 62 into the bottom of tank 20 as the hot water in inner compartment104 overflows partition 100.

When a drink is drawn from the dispenser, the level of water incompartment 104 drops below that of the top of partition 100.Consequently, all incoming water will be routed by means of baffle 110to the outer compartment 102. The water exiting from the tank 20 throughsolenoid valve 38 will normally be the hottest water in the systembecause the cold water entering the tank normally displaces the hotwater upwardly in the tank. It should be observed that the diverter 114minimizes turbulence in the tank when the cold water is introduced so asto prevent mixing of the cooler water entering the tank with the hotwater already heated in it. The hot water is merely displaced upwardlywithout being reduced in temperature.

It should also be recognized that the difference in height between thesolenoid valve outlet 38 and the level of water in compartment 104 ismaintained by the float valve assembly 84. So long as there is water inreservoir 50, the discharge rate from the tank as drinks are withdrawnis not effected by a drop in level in the reservoir 50.

Because the reservoir 50 is removed from the hot water in tank 20 andchamber 60, the temperature of water in the reservoir remainssubstantially ambient,

and there is minimum evaporation and no danger of being scalded bysplashing water from the reservoir as water is added to it. Moreover,because the water in the tank and chamber 60 is open only by vent tube120 to the atmosphere, evaporation losses are minimized.

It will be appreciated that the system described, including chamber 60is readily accessible at the top of housing 10, and repairs may be madeto the float valve assembly 84 by removing cover 96.

It will also be appreciated that the system is substantially burn outproof. The tank 20 can not be emptied below the level of valve 38 whichis adjacent the tank top. Consequently the heater 24 is constantlyimmersed in water.

Having described this invention in detail those skilled in the art willappreciate that numerous modifications may be made thereof withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention. Therefore it is notintended to limit the breadth of this invention to a single embodimentillustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that its scope bedetermined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

l. A hot liquid food dispenser comprising a housing and a dischargespout on the housing,

a hot water tank within the housing including a heating element forheating water in said tank,

a duct connected to the tank adjacent the top and to the spout forcarrying water from the top of the tank to the discharge spout and avalve for controlling flow of water through the duct,

a water reservoir on the housing which may be manually filled andlocated above the tank,

means connected between the reservoir and the bottom of the tank fordirecting water from the reservoir to the bottom of the tank,

said means including an auxiliary chamber and a transfer duct connectingthe reservoir to the chamber,

a passage connecting the chamber to the tank whereby water in the tankmay flow into the chamher when the tank is full,

and a second valve in said means for controlling flow from the reservoirto the tank and including a float disposed in said chamber causing thesecond valve to close when the water in the chamber reaches a selectedlevel.

2. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 1 furthercharacterized by said auxiliary chamber being disposed immediately abovethe tank and said reservoir being positioned above the chamber wherebyflow from the reservoir to the chamber and from the chamber to the tankis by gravity.

3. A hot liquid foot dispenser as described in claim 1 furthercharacterized by said auxiliary chamber having two compartments,

one of said compartments forming part of the means for carrying waterfrom the reservoir to the tank and the other of said compartments beingconnected to the top of the tank by said passage and into which watermay flow from the tank when the tank is full.

4. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 1 furthercharacterized by said reservoir having a removable cover and beingvented to the atmosphere.

5. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 4 furthercharacterized by said reservoir being made of a material to enable anoperator to observe the level of water therein with- 5 out removing thecover.

6. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 3 furthercharacterized by said two compartments being in communication with oneanother within the chamber allowing water in said other compartment toflow into the first compartment when it reaches a selected level in theother compartment.

7. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 6 furthercharacterized by a vent tube disposed in said chamber and having aninlet above the selected level of the water in said other compartment.

8. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 3 furthercharacterized by said partition being a vertical cylindrical wall anddividing the chamber into the first compartment outside the partitionand the other compartment inside the partition,

and the communication between the compartments being over the top of thecylindrical wall.

9. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 8 furthercharacterized by said float being in the other compartment and closingthe second valve when the water in said other compartment reaches aselected level.

10. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 9 furthercharacterized by said float carrying a baffle and directing water fromthe reservoir into the first compartment.

11. A hot liquid food dispenser comprising a housing and a dischargespout on the housing,

a hot water tank within the housing including a heating element forheating water in said tank,

a duct connected between the tank and spout for carrying hot water fromthe tank to the discharge spout,

a water reservoir mounted above the tank and duct means connecting thereservoir and tank, said reservoir having means enabling it to bemanually fitted while connected to the tank and being vented to theatmosphere,

and a valve mounted in the duct means for controlling flow from thereservoir to the tank, said duct means including an auxiliary chamberand a transfer duct connecting the reservoir to the chamber,

a passage connecting the chamber to the tank whereby water in the tankmay flow into the chamber when the tank is full,

and said valve mounted in said duct means including a float disposed inthe chamber causing the valve to close when the water in the chamberreaches a selected level.

12. A hot liquid dispenser in accordance with claim 11 and furthercharacterized by a second valve for controlling flow from said tank tosaid spout,

said duct connected between said tank and said spout being connected insaid tank above said heating element.

13. A hot liquid dispenser in accordance with claim 12 furthercharacterized by 1 further characterized by said valve being located insaid duct means and being operable to automatically close the means whenthe water in the tank is at a selected level.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION pa 3 ,927 ,802Dated December 23 1 975 lnventofls) Rona] d B. Lavochkin and John Gardner It is certified that error a ppears in the above-identified patentand that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, cTaim 3,

first Tine, correct "foot" to read --food--.

Signed and Scaled this twenty-seventh D 3y 0 f A prt'l 1 9 76 [SEAL]Arrest.

RUTH C. MASON ('ummixsimwr of Parents and Trmlcmurkx

1. A hot liquid food dispenser comprising a housiNg and a dischargespout on the housing, a hot water tank within the housing including aheating element for heating water in said tank, a duct connected to thetank adjacent the top and to the spout for carrying water from the topof the tank to the discharge spout and a valve for controlling flow ofwater through the duct, a water reservoir on the housing which may bemanually filled and located above the tank, means connected between thereservoir and the bottom of the tank for directing water from thereservoir to the bottom of the tank, said means including an auxiliarychamber and a transfer duct connecting the reservoir to the chamber, apassage connecting the chamber to the tank whereby water in the tank mayflow into the chamber when the tank is full, and a second valve in saidmeans for controlling flow from the reservoir to the tank and includinga float disposed in said chamber causing the second valve to close whenthe water in the chamber reaches a selected level.
 2. A hot liquid fooddispenser as described in claim 1 further characterized by saidauxiliary chamber being disposed immediately above the tank and saidreservoir being positioned above the chamber whereby flow from thereservoir to the chamber and from the chamber to the tank is by gravity.3. A hot liquid foot dispenser as described in claim 1 furthercharacterized by said auxiliary chamber having two compartments, one ofsaid compartments forming part of the means for carrying water from thereservoir to the tank and the other of said compartments being connectedto the top of the tank by said passage and into which water may flowfrom the tank when the tank is full.
 4. A hot liquid food dispenser asdescribed in claim 1 further characterized by said reservoir having aremovable cover and being vented to the atmosphere.
 5. A hot liquid fooddispenser as described in claim 4 further characterized by saidreservoir being made of a material to enable an operator to observe thelevel of water therein without removing the cover.
 6. A hot liquid fooddispenser as described in claim 3 further characterized by said twocompartments being in communication with one another within the chamberallowing water in said other compartment to flow into the firstcompartment when it reaches a selected level in the other compartment.7. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 6 furthercharacterized by a vent tube disposed in said chamber and having aninlet above the selected level of the water in said other compartment.8. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 3 furthercharacterized by said partition being a vertical cylindrical wall anddividing the chamber into the first compartment outside the partitionand the other compartment inside the partition, and the communicationbetween the compartments being over the top of the cylindrical wall. 9.A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 8 furthercharacterized by said float being in the other compartment and closingthe second valve when the water in said other compartment reaches aselected level.
 10. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 9further characterized by said float carrying a baffle and directingwater from the reservoir into the first compartment.
 11. A hot liquidfood dispenser comprising a housing and a discharge spout on thehousing, a hot water tank within the housing including a heating elementfor heating water in said tank, a duct connected between the tank andspout for carrying hot water from the tank to the discharge spout, awater reservoir mounted above the tank and duct means connecting thereservoir and tank, said reservoir having means enabling it to bemanually fitted while connected to the tank and being vented to theatmosphere, and a valve mounted in the duct means for controlling flowfrom the reservoir to the tank, said duct meaNs including an auxiliarychamber and a transfer duct connecting the reservoir to the chamber, apassage connecting the chamber to the tank whereby water in the tank mayflow into the chamber when the tank is full, and said valve mounted insaid duct means including a float disposed in the chamber causing thevalve to close when the water in the chamber reaches a selected level.12. A hot liquid dispenser in accordance with claim 11 and furthercharacterized by a second valve for controlling flow from said tank tosaid spout, said duct connected between said tank and said spout beingconnected in said tank above said heating element.
 13. A hot liquiddispenser in accordance with claim 12 further characterized by saidauxiliary chamber being disposed immediately above the tank and saidreservoir being positioned above the chamber whereby flow from thereservoir to the chamber and from the chamber to the tank is by gravity.14. A hot liquid food dispenser as described in claim 1 furthercharacterized by said valve being located in said duct means and beingoperable to automatically close the means when the water in the tank isat a selected level.